Pincky Balhara entered her name in the history books on Monday (September 28) by becoming the first Indian to win multiple medals in Kurash at the Asian Games. The 27-year-old had won her first Asian Games medal in the 2018 edition by bagging silver in the women’s 52kg category, and on Monday, she secured a bronze medal for India in the women’s 78kg category.
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The Indian star suffered a 0-5 defeat in her semifinal match against Sumin Mo of South Korea on Monday, but despite that, she managed to secure a podium finish.
Had Pincky managed to get the better of Mo, she would have featured in the gold medal match later in the day.
In the semifinal, Balhara copped a Dakki (penalty) during
the bout while Mo earned ‘Yonbosh’ point.
Earlier, Balhara prevailed 3-0 over Garam Lim to move into the semifinals. The 27-year-old Indian produced the decisive score through a ‘Chala’, while Lim could not register a point across the bout. ‘Chala’ is awarded when an athlete throws the opponent but the move lacks full control.
Kurash was added to the Asian Games roster in 2018, and in that edition, India won two medals — one silver and one bronze.
Malaprabha Jadhav secured bronze in the women’s 52kg category at the Asian Games 2018, while Balhara bagged silver in the same category.
Lovlina assures medal in boxing
Lovlina Borgohain’s medal collection continued to swell as the seasoned Indian boxer assured herself of a second consecutive Asian Games podium finish by storming into the women’s 75kg semifinals with a win over South Korea’s Seong Suyeon on Monday.
Competing in her first bout of the tournament, Lovlina defeated South Korea’s Seong Suyeon 5-0 in the quarterfinals, assuring herself of at least a bronze medal.
The Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist had won silver at the previous edition in Hangzhou in 2023.
With the Commonwealth Games silver she won last month, the Assam boxer has now won medals at all the big-ticket events, including the World Championships, Asian Games, Asian Championships and World Cup.
She will take on reigning 70kg world champion Natalya Bogdanova of Kazakhstan in the last four stage.
With the win, Lovlina thus joins the likes of Parveen Hooda (65kg), Ankush Panghal (80kg) and Narender Berwal (+90kg), who all cruised into the semifinals on Sunday.
Later in the day, Priya Ghanghas (60kg) and Kapil Pokhariya (90kg) will vie for a semifinal spot in their respective weight categories.
